I am going to be purchasing a lap top.
I've had my gateway tower since 2002....I think its time...
So my question is..whats the best brand ? what should I know?
My dad has a compaq..he likes it (he got it about 6 months ago)
Tim has a Toshiba...he really likes it, I like the large size keys on it.
I heard HP is the best...
did HP buy compaq? I heard they did because I remember compaqs used to be shitastic.
Let me know if you have any info!!!
thanks
DAVID
Comments ... #
Wow. thanks for letting me know.
I wonder if HP or Toshiba have come a long way since maybe 2006?
I don't know.
I would LOVE a mac book, I am affraid they are out of my range though.
=(
You might consider the iBook. Macs are surprisingly versatile - the iBook is probably powerful enough for most users except hardcore gamers or graphic designers or the like...
posted by MoreThanRhetoric on Aug 25, 2008 at 03:27:55 pm #
Available from resellers...
posted by MoreThanRhetoric on Aug 25, 2008 at 03:29:19 pm #
My Dell craps out all the time. But then, maybe it's the user!
I am staying away from dells. only hear bad bad bad things from dell.
Funny...I've had a Dell for 2 and 1/2 years, and still going strong. :knock on wood:
We have HPs for field work at the work and they seem to be pretty robust, considering the klutz I am.
posted by drunkenwildmage on Aug 25, 2008 at 03:56:53 pm #
I have a Mac Power Book G4. Yes it was a little more costly - But I have had it since Fall of '03. It is just now starting to run a little slow... But I also use it for some CADD work too. It rarely crashes and still keeps up with most recent software. It has been a great investment for me. My husband has 1 Dell laptop for work and 1 for himself, and they run fine.
Macs are definitely among the best, but also among the priciest. We currently have a Compaq Presario A900 laptop that we purchased from Best Buy in January. We grabbed it up on sale for less than $550. It has a 17" screen, 2GB of RAM and a 150 GB hard drive. This thing has been FANTASTIC, never a seconds worth of problems and has far exceeded our expectations!
I think every brand of computers has it's good models and it's lemons. I had a Gateway that was a POS from almost the day I bought it and I currently have a Dell desktop that has been a dream. But I've heard people rave about what amazing machine's Gateway's are and I've heard people rant about what a POS Dell's are. We also have an e-Machines that has more than met our expectations, especially considering it was purchased brand new for $274.
The best "suggestion" I would give you is to shop around, make a list of the ones that are within your budget, compare all the bells and whistles and then make your decision. THEN, buy an extended warranty, that way if it does end up being a POS, you'll get it fixed or replaced! Also, not sure if you're a Vista user or not, but the one thing that we've learned is that bare minimum RAM for Vista is 2GB, anything less isn't a pleasant experience at all! The Compaq has 2GB, and does OK, my Dell has 3GB and does great.
Anyway, just shop around, get the best bang for your buck. If you don't like a specific brand, stay away from it, but as you can tell from just this thread alone, every brand has it's good ones and it's bad ones. Good luck! Be sure to let us know what you go with!
posted by justsimplyholly on Aug 25, 2008 at 05:35:19 pm #
Compaq and HP are the same anymore. My family has two laptops from 2005, Compaq & an HP, that are still going strong. I just bought another HP in Dec of 07. No issues with the computer but I have many issues with Vista. It doesnt play nice with some other softwares... Like some versions of QuickBooks.
Try to get XP if you can.
Software matters more. OSX is bloated garbage as is Vista. Stick to XP or linux if you can.
Dell and HP and Toshiba all come with their own preinstalled crap too. I just bought a $25 old used craptop for my niece with gutted win2k OS windowblinded to mimic Vista's look. It also runs Kubuntu. It seriously runs faster than the new Dell I use with Vista and all it's Garbage wear. I have it dual booted to XP for when I have to something useful or fun.
Acer makes nice laptops, but if money weren't an issue I'd get a nerdbag Fujitsu tablet.
http://global.acer.com/PRODUCTS/notebook/index.htm
http://store.shopfujitsu.com/fpc/Ecommerce/productoverview.do?type=TB&pgid=Tablets
I like Dell but their tech support sucks unless you get a business class account. Though where I work and my last employer were both big Dell fans and have had few problems.
Using a Dell laptop right now and haven't had any issues (not saying there wont be or can't) though I've been pleased.
I am a Toshiba fan, in the past friends/family member have bought Satellites models and no problems.
If you can, try to get something with XP. Vista is a bit rough still.
HP did buy out Compaq and basically rebranded their lower end models as compaqs. Have heard great things about HP laptops though.
Above all, if money wasn't an issue I agree with a couple posters here. Apple all the way. Though they are a bit expensive. Better question is what do you plan to do with it?
Get a Mac. I have a macbook pro and I run both OSX and xp via parallels and spend the majority of my time in OSX.This is the best laptop I have ever owned. Had a Compaq and a Dell both are sitting under my desk ready to be recycled.
Thank everyone.
As for what I will be using it for ...basically just standard web surfing...word....just typical things nothing like gaming or anything along those lines.I am going to look into the different dell, HP, and Toshibas and see which one will work for me=)
thanks everyone.
-David
I've had 2 Terribleshibas, 1 Dell, and 1 HP. The HP performed the best. Some day I'll go Mac, but for your needs, the HP should do fine.
posted by justareviewer on Aug 26, 2008 at 07:12:25 pm #
Hi =)
In case anyone was wondering what I ended up purchasing here goes.I had bought a Toshiba and when I got home and took it out of the box and was rather unhappy with the way of how cheap it felt. I took it back and did some more research.
I looked up HP’s and I really liked the design and the look of the HP’s.
I was looking around to see who had the best deal. Well come to find out I ended up calling all the wal marts around here to see if they carried in store the HP that was originally 700$ and was currently $598. I ended up going to the wal mart that is on our way to our cottage (Devils Lake) in Adrian, Michigan. I have been using it the past couple days and is very impressed and satisfied so far.I ended up getting the AMD dual core processor, 1.8 gighertz 3 gig ram, 120 gig hard drive. (I figured that was enough because I have an external Hard Drive)
=)
thanks for everyone’s input and help.
I’m sure later I’ll be asking for help on how the run this vista program such as how to run vista in this “aero” more I’ve heard of
There have been a couple posts about people having "dead" laptops and wanting to recycle or get rid of them.
Anyone willing to give/sell me one cheaply? I've been wanting to get some kind of semi-broken laptop to use as an embedded system for a project. If so msg me in priv jshriver
gmail.com
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current date: 06-Jan-2009 9:32 A.M.
Funny you should ask about those particular brands of laptops. I have owned both an HP and a Toshiba laptop. I would urge you to avoid both, based on my experience. My first laptop was the HP, bought after years with a desktop from IBM. The HP lasted for approximately 14 months before recurring motherboard issues finally killed it. The Toshiba was bought as a replacement and lasted for about 8 months. It gave me trouble from the beginning, mainly related to the power supply and charging. It finally gave up on me and the cost to repair was too high.
Neither company provided much in the way of technical support when I called. I felt as if I was more knowledgable than the folks on the other end of the line.
After the Toshiba died, I pulled the trigger on a Mac Powerbook and it has been working for me since January of 2006. I have had a few issues with software, but they were all resolved pretty easily either by me or with the help of the Mac Cafe folks. Macs absolutely cost more than "similar" PC laptops, but the speed and memory ratings do not translate evenly across the two platforms.
Anyway, that's my two cents. By the way, don't let anyone convince you that finding software for a Mac is a problem. ALL mainstream programs are made for both platforms and the new Intel Macs can run ANY PC software.
posted by MoreThanRhetoric on Aug 25, 2008 at 03:15:01 pm #